Wilmer McLean

That the US Civil War began and ended on the properties of the same man.

— Richard 🇺🇸 (@Richard79139714) May 23, 2026

Grok, is this true?

The X post replies to a prompt for favorite historical facts by claiming the US Civil War began and ended on properties of the same man, later identifying him as Wilbur (a minor misremembering of Wilmer McLean).

Wilmer McLean's Virginia farmhouse near Manassas served as Confederate Gen. Beauregard's headquarters in July 1861 during the First Battle of Bull Run, where a cannonball struck his kitchen.

McLean moved to Appomattox Court House to escape fighting, but in April 1865 Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant in the parlor of his new home there, effectively ending the war.

 

Andrew Jackson had an African grey parrot that swore so much at his funeral it had to be removed because it wouldn’t stop screaming obscenities

Andrew Jackson had an African grey parrot that swore so much at his funeral it had to be removed because it wouldn’t stop screaming obscenities, I love this one because I also have one that swears and I hope she does the same when I die lmao.

I also love that Australia had an…

— Courtney (@CourtneyWRocket) May 23, 2026

Question to Grok - Did that really happen? (the grey parrot story; I know about the Emu war.)

Andrew Jackson owned an African grey parrot named Poll (sometimes called Polly). It originally belonged to his wife Rachel and was acquired around 1827. After Rachel's death, Jackson kept the bird. 

[en.wikipedia.org]

At Jackson's funeral on June 10, 1845, at The Hermitage in Tennessee, Poll reportedly caused a scene by swearing loudly. Reverend William Menefee Norment, who attended, later recalled (as quoted in Samuel G. Heiskell’s Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History):

"Before the sermon and while the crowd was gathering, a wicked parrot that was a household pet, got excited and commenced swearing so loud and long as to disturb the people and had to be carried from the house."

The bird was removed to restore order. African greys are excellent mimics, and Jackson was known for his colorful language, so the parrot likely picked it up from him or others in the household. 

[jacksonianamerica.com]

This is an anecdotal story based on a contemporary eyewitness account, but it's widely accepted as credible (though not 100% proven with multiple independent sources). It's documented in historical books, the Presidential Pet Museum, and Snopes rates the core claim as true based on the reverend's recollection.

History

Women: "Do men even have feelings?"

Meanwhile men: pic.twitter.com/A0DJ3EiIxB

— Jash Dholani (@oldbooksguy) April 17, 2026

 

An Insight

A single accountant stole $53 million from her employer over 20 years and nobody noticed

Rita Crundwell was the comptroller of Dixon, Illinois with a population of 15,000

She opened a secret bank account called “Reserve Sewer Capital Development Account”

For two decades she… pic.twitter.com/puqRzoYL2Z

— Uzi (@UziCryptoo) April 16, 2026

 

I see wonderful things

These are vintage lightbulbs from the 1930s pic.twitter.com/B2ZaiZWVjK

— James Lucas (@JamesLucasIT) April 17, 2026

 

Offbeat Humor

There were five murderers in Fairfax County this year. Three were illegal immigrants and one was a Democrat lieutenant governor

VA Democrats are now trying to arrest ICE and ban guns, while exempting legislators from the gun laws.

— Luke Rosiak (@lukerosiak) April 16, 2026

 

Data Talks

For people without access to the Nature paper who want more than the abstract, this is a nice summary.

But something needs publicizing: Little in this paper is new.

In 2010, Cochran and Harpending correctly described the basics of recent evolution in The 10,000 Year… https://t.co/vAYpBBUJUC

— Charles Murray (@charlesmurray) April 16, 2026

 

So thick the confusion, Even the cowards were brave.

From Carmina Archilochi: The Fragments of Archilochos translated by Guy Davenport.

So thick the confusion,

Even the cowards were brave.

Palo Alto Circle, 1943 by Richard Diebenkorn

Palo Alto Circle, 1943 by Richard Diebenkorn (America, 1922-1993)

Click to enlarge.

The sweetness Of homecoming

From Carmina Archilochi: The Fragments of Archilochos translated by Guy Davenport.

How Many Times

by Archilochos

How many times,

How many times,

On the grey sea,

The sea combed

By the wind

Like a wilderness

Of woman’s hair,

Have we longed,

Lost in nostalgia,

For the sweetness

Of homecoming.